Intravitreal Silicone Oil Droplets After Bevacizumab Injections

In this interview from ASRS 2017, Dr. Rahul Khurana discusses findings from his retrospective study that suggests that injections of bevacizumab may introduce silicone oil droplets into the vitreous cavity. Dr. Khurana and his colleagues identified 60 cases among 6,632 bevacizumab injections, most of which were given through single-use 31-gauge BD insulin syringes prepared by a 503B-approved compounding pharmacy (California Compounding Pharmacy, Newark, CA). Fortunately, the majority of symptomatic cases resolved without intervention within 2 to 8 months. Dr. Khurana advocates that physicians should prime their syringes prior to injection, use Luer-cone design syringes do not contain silicone oil and counsel their patients on the risk of floaters associated with preloaded insulin syringes.

Relevant Financial Disclosures: Dr. Khurana is a consultant for and collects lecture fees from Genentech and Regeneron. He also receives grant support from Regeneron.